La Vie En Rose

"Waterworks" Works for Us!

  Thank you to our dear pal and blog peruser Ruth Handel who gave us a heads up on today's feature in TrendCentral . We don't know the folks there, but we do agree with them. Who can beat tap?

We also agree with their choices for serving from a carafe, both from the A+R offerings. Jacob Wagner's Carafe with SmartLid is reminiscent of a old milk bottle, but is perfectly modern in its top design for serving without dumping ice or fruit (sangria anyone?) into a glass. And Adrian Brekveld's take is crafted from terracotta so it keeps coolness in and condensation off the table. Looks cool, too (and it, too, works well with chilled vino).

Obsessed: Winebreather Decanter

Just posted the Winebreather Decanter by the Danish design house Menu. The hand-blown vessel aerates wine no matter how you flip it, and it doesn't even require hands as it pours from the bottle to decanter and vice versa. It's well-priced, too, making it my new go-to wedding or holiday gift.

We Think DesignSponge Shreds Too!

Loving the love from Design*Sponge this week for our Paper Shredders by IDEA International in Japan. We didn't even know they were going to feature it, so we love the posting even more.

As for those naysayers replying to the posting as why anyone would want to spend $44 on a hand-cranked model when they can get an electric for $50, consider this a greener option—cuter, too! And it snuggly fits between books on a shelf, making it all the more a smarter option to those bulky electrics.

Fab Final ConFab

Yours Truly and Wednesday's Fab5: Gregory Parkinson, Calleen Cordero, Rose Apodaca, Brian Scheyer, Jill Giordino and Tanya Aguiñiga 

 

A rousing thank you to everyone who came from near and far (including the student from OCC!) for what was a fantastic evening with the talented designers on our final fashion panel for the California Design Biennial.

Only wish we had a recording of the session given all the invaluable insight that came out of it.

The show ends October 31...so you've just a little more than a week left to check it out!

Last Chance! Fashion ConFab@PMCA

A look from Gregory Parkinson's Fall 2010 Collection

Thrilled to be moderatng a second panel in conjunction with the California Design Biennial: Action/Reaction at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, this one featuring four of the 11 fashion stars showcased: Calleen Cordero, Tanya Aguíñiga, Jill Giordano of Gr. Dano and Gregory Parkinson. 

The 11 designers featured in this yearʼs biennial are at the forefront of a fundamental shift in fashion, working outside the system and realizing a new lifestyle and business model in the process. It doesnʼt
come easy. But the pay-offs—from control of craftsmanship to the ethical benefits for their staff and clients—trump being like everyone else.

At this Wednesdays panel, we will discuss how and why they do it, and what insight they continue to learn by the experience. A live conversation is followed by a special guided tour of the fashion part of the show, which I curated. Gr. Dano's Jill and partner Brian Scheyer are down from their homebase of San Francsico for the talk, and Gregory will be right off his Tuesday presentation as a finalist in the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

Action/Reaction ends October 31. So this is a great time to catch it before it closes, and listen to what the designers themselves have to say.

The PMCA is at 490 East Union Street, Pasadena. The panel begins at 5:15 sharpish, followed by the tour around 6:20 p.m.

See you there!

Cotton Rope Necklace by Tanya Aguíñiga, whose felt-skinned chairs are also part of the exhibition.

Photos Courtesy of the Designers.

Pussy Galore: Katy Perry

As I put the finishing touches this a.m. on my upcoming cover feature on Katy Perry, WWD finally announced today the release of her first perfume, Purr, in conjunction with Gigantic Parfums. While the brief doesn't bother with the notes, it does deliver on eye candy. Purr, fittingly, comes bottled in a lavendar glass kitty-shaped flacon, complete with jeweled eyes and foil accents. And Katy, who was an absolute earthy delight during the interview in our 'hood this last Tuesday, was the cat's meow for photographer Miles Aldridge. It's one of her chicer incarnations.

And all this, of course, from a girl with three cats, including one called Kitty Purry.

The scent and images go public in November, just in time, naturally, for the consumer-crazed holidays, at Nordstrom.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Style for the Ages: Rankin's Eye on Peggy Lipton and Jacqueline Bisset

 

As I review the layout edits on my Fred Hayman biography, specifically the parts with nostalgic remembrances of Beverly Hills in the 1960s and 1970s by Jacqueline Bisset and Peggy Lipton, I'm reminded that both women, beautiful as ever, were coincidently part of the print and video feature I did for Harper's Bazaar late this summer.

The images by Rankin now appear in the October issue.

Both women remain so utterly stunning, elegant and modern—true inspirations. No wonder they can be honestly called icons.

Jacqueline Bisset in Burberry

 

 

Peggy Lipton and Ashley Greene in Chloe

 

Video and Photos Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar

NotCot's First Fave

We've long followed Jean Aw and her relentless cool hunting site NotCot. She's the "Where's Waldo" of the design world, showing up seemingly all over the planet all at once in order to report the latest and greatest in products and trends. So we are beyond thrilled to be featured as the first in her new series of NotCot's Fave Places. Loving the series of photographs she snapped of our new Venice, CA, store.

Crafting Couture+Celebrity: Raven Kauffman+Michael Schmidt Tonight at PMCA

  
Lady Gaga "bubbles" by Michael Schmidt for Rolling Stone cover

 

Please join me tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 6, for a special discussion and tour with Raven Kauffman and Michael Schmidt, two of the designers featured in the California Design Biennial at the PMCA.Their installations alone are worth the trip.

Panel+Tour 5-7 p.m.
The show ENDS Oct. 31...so NOW is your time to catch it.

We got terrific press this summer for the exhibition (I curated the fashion category), and the Los Angeles Times and ForYourArt were among those who said it best (we think!) with these stories.

Don't let the rain keep you away. See you tonight!

Plume clutch created for Sarah Jessica Parker by Raven Kauffman

 

Photo: Lady Gaga supplied by Michael Schmidt/Plume supplied by Raven Kauffman

Girl on Film: Georgia May Jagger for Hudson

 

No matter how you slice it, either of the newest vids featuring Hudson poster girl Georgia May Jagger smokes. This is the third campaign season that the L.A.-based denim powerhouse features the beautiful freak of nature and spawn of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger. When we came across her a couple of years back at a gig for her boyfriend Django James (also rock spawn of Dave Stewart and the fab Siobhan Fahey, whom we're so thrilled to see in the spotlight again), we had no idea who she was except for this beautiful creature. It was inevitable she'd follow in her mother's stilletos.

While the Hudson-V Mag-branded vid released yesterday and seen below is certainly sexy, we're partial to the smoldering film above featured on the jeans brand new site, which also has an entire area devoted to the many shorts starring this blond babe.

Thanks to pals T+M over at Hudson.